Vendetta
by Datfangirl
Summary: Starts in the midst of Jak II. Follows basic plotline but with a lot added in to make the story more intense (Warning: This fic is very dark in some parts). Very slight JakxKeira.
1. Chapter 1: Wounded

Disclaimer: I do not own Jak and Daxter or any of the characters used in this story, they belong to Naughty Dog

Tess, Sig and Torn all sat in the Naughty Ottsel conversing about the Praxis' latest movements when, all of the sudden, the door burst open revealing a small, orange and fuzzy creature. "Daxter!" Tess screamed at the sight of seeing him covered in sticky red blood. The three sitting in the bar realized that it wasn't his own blood by the sickly purple shade of the liquid. "Jak's in trouble he needs help _now_!" Nobody could argue with the unusually serious tone Daxter used. Torn leapt up from his seat and "Where is he?" he asked frantically, he didn't want to lose his best man, _for mission purposes of course_, or at least thats what he told himself. Daxter seemed so panicked that he could barely get the words out "He's just outside the bar he-.. he crashed his zoomer". Sig and Torn swiftly walked outside and were greeted by a horrifying sight. Jak was lying in a pool of quickly spreading blood, seemingly unconscious. Sig hooked his arms underneath Jak's armpits and Torn supported his lower body- Jak was a lot heavier than he looked due to the fact that he was sheer muscle. Tess watched as the two men walked back in with a limp bloody Jak. Her hands came up to her mouth and tears threatened to spill over her eyes. She had seen many underground men stumble through the doors barely conscious and bleeding, most didn't survive. She was particularly fond of Jak, though their relationship was somewhat of a brother/sister/comrade relation and she didn't know if she could stand to see him die. _No_ she told herself _He won't die- he can't- This is Jak and he's a survivor_.

Daxter meanwhile was sitting by Jak's head stroking his hair and talking a mile a minute, anything to comfort Jak, to keep him alive. Daxter felt cold dread spread through him when he drew back his hand to see it covered in blood and dark eco. He hadn't realized it before but Jak _bled_ the stuff. It was such part of his being that it ran through his veins and bled through his wounds. Shocked and revolted Daxter slowly backed away from the ever growing puddle of blood oozing from Jak's various wounds to allow Torn to begin treating him.

Torn returned from the back room with a bag of medical supplies just as Jak regained consciousness. His eyes slowly blinked open and he tried to sit up only to feel stabbing, searing pain come from various places on his body, mainly his abdomen. He gasped from the pain and realized he couldn't quite get enough air. He coughed and tasted blood in his mouth. He felt gentle pressure on his shoulder easing him back onto the floor. "Easy there Jak you're banged up pretty bad- don't panic." said Torn who was hovering above him holding a roll of gauze, his eyebrows creased together. _Easy for you to say you aren't the one drowning in your own blood!_ thought Jak. He coughed up some more blood and no longer able to stay awake, his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he fell unconscious once again.

Torn took out his curved knife from his jacket and cut Jak's shirt open. He pulled it off and dropped it to the ground beside him with a wet slap. "Oh man this is bad!" said Daxter worriedly assessing Jaks many wounds. There were various slashes, most likely from metal heads littering his arms, legs and back. But perhaps the worst of these wounds was the gaping hole in his stomach just slightly to the left of his bellybutton which was quite literally, spurting blood. "Daxter get over here and put some pressure on his wound!" Torn yelled, at this rate Jak was going to loose too much blood. Daxter ran over and obeyed Torn without question which was very unusual for him, usually he had some sarcastic comment to make at least

Jak's skin was becoming increasingly pale, but despite what the others thought he was still semi-conscious. He could hear life going on around him but more importantly he could _feel_. The pain was so intense he began to grow nauseous. Since when had he begun to breathe so hard? He could tell that his chest was heaving and his breath was coming ragged gasps but he still couldn't get enough air. _Where were his eyes? why couldn't he open them?_

Torn had pulled his arms away from his sides after bandaging his midsection, which was already beginning to stain red, and had Sig hold his arms splayed out in a cross position. Torn began to stitch up a nasty gash along his bicep when Jak began to behave strangely, it was almost like the teen was panicking. His eyes shot open wide and his back arched off the ground. He tried to thrash around in Sig and Torn's grip, struggling against them. Then he began to yell. "No stop it please... I'll do anything!.. Not this _please not this" _This was not a sound anyone could have ever imagined leaving the young renegades lips. Jak's broken tone spoke of torture and pain, rage and fear, it spoke of an experience so horrifying that one couldn't imagine it in their darkest, most twisted dreams.

While Tess, Sig, and Torn all looked at each other panicking slightly, Daxter was that first to spring into action. "LET GO OF HIM GOD DAMNIT" he screeched. Daxter hadn't ever wanted to see his friend that tortured again, but something about the particular position Jak was being held down in seemed to trigger this kind of reaction from him. Perhaps it was the similarity to the way he had once been restrained on the cold, hard metal chair in the depths of Haven's prison fortress. But whatever the case, Daxter wasn't just going to stand around and see his best friend in pain like this!

Daxter's yell snapped Sig and Torn out of their horrified trance and they released Jak from their grip. Jak immediately curled in upon himself. While he appeared to be conscious, it was obvious that he was not entirely coherent yet. The rest of the room breathed a sigh of relief. Seeing the most fearless man you knew shrieking with pain and terror was disturbing on many levels.

Jak hunched over on his hands and knees one hand clutching his stomach and another shaking arm attempting to hold himself up. Somehow in a brief lapse of incoherency he thought he was back in the Baron's prison being subjected to another torturous injection of dark eco. His breath was coming in ragged gasps laced with pain and fear. "Jak you had me worried there buddy, I thought you were loosin' it!" chirped Daxter trying, as always, to lighten the mood. Jak's eyes finally glanced up to see four nervous pairs staring back at him. During his moment of panic the pain and nausea had been forgotten but now it was returning full force. He turned away from his friends and promptly vomited the contents of his stomach all over the floor. He was shocked by the amount of blood he saw in the pile of sick. His entire body was trembling from a combination of dark eco withdrawals, blood loss, and dizzying nausea. He was just barely able to make sure he didn't roll in his own pile of sick before collapsing in a heap on the ground again.

Sig, who had been silent during this whole ordeal, couldn't hold back when he saw Jak turn away. There were pieces of metal shrapnel, presumably from when his zoomer had crashed, sticking out of his back at odd angles. This was even worse than he had feared. "Holy sh-" he began to say when Jak vomited a fountain of blood. He had seen many men injured before, but never like this, even the most resilient of men should have been dead by now. But not Jak, he was a fighter, and thats what they were all counting on.

Jak rolled over onto his newly bandaged abdomen and rasped "please... take them out... hurts" Torn slowly walked over to Jak and carefully knelt down beside him. Some of the metal pieces were no larger than a splinter but some of the other ones must have been four inches long and jagged. Tess and Torn got to work on removing the shrapnel while Daxter sat by his friends head stroking his hair and murmuring softly- anything to distract his best friend from the pain. Jak couldn't help but let out small cries as the larger pieces were removed from his flesh. He could tell that he was shaking but he wasn't sure if it was from the cold-_cold? _or from the the relentless eco still coursing through his system begging to be released._ No_ Jak stubbornly told himself _I will not let that happen I will not loose control. _

Once every piece was removed and every wound bandaged and cleaned to the best of their ability Jak slowly raised himself from the floor. Three sets of hands shot out to steady him, as the stubbornly persistant eco pounded in his skull threatening to overtake him. His vision was hazy and glazed over with pain as he stumbled across the room to go sit down in one of the bar benches. He collapsed into one of them with the help of Torn and leaned his head back, closed his eyes and let out a long shuddering breath. "Ugh..." Jak groaned "Been one helluva day". "Yeah you mind telling us how exactly you got into this state?" Torn asked still somewhat curious as to what could have gotten_ Jak _of all people to the brink of death.


	2. Chapter 2: This is Really Bad!

"Later... too ti-" Jak began to say but he was interrupted by a violent coughing fit. He slipped off the bench onto all fours coughing and hacking up blood and dark eco. During his coughing spell he managed to reopen his stomach wound. He sat back on his haunches gripping his side so hard that his knuckles turned white. "I don't like this... I think we should call in the Shadow and see if he can help Jak because right now theres nothing else we can do for him" Torn said crossing his arms and looking down on Jak's wounded figure. "You gonna be okay big guy?" Whispered Daxter right in Jak's ear so that no others could hear him. "Course Dax... I wont die that easy, you know me better than that don't you?" Jak rasped out, a ghost of a smile on his lips. "Now thats our our boy- Too damn stubborn to die!" Daxter exclaimed much more cheerfully than he felt.

"Shadow? This is Torn, the new recruit-yes that one- is injured really bad we're gonna bring him over to the hideout for the night. Maybe you could help... Things aren't lookin' too good for him right now... You'll see... aright we'll be over soon". Daxter was sitting next to Jak, trying to encourage him to stand up so he can get treated. "Come on big guy just stand up" he persisted. All he got in return was a groan and a grunt of pain as Jak rose from the ground, still clutching the ever reddening bandages on his abdomen. The simple movement caused Jak to breathe heavily in order to cope with his currently compromised ribcage. Tess came over with a dark blue sweatshirt and carefuly pulled it over Jak's head who grunted appreciatively and slipped his arms through. He slowly staggered over to the double zoomer with the help of Sig who said worriedly "Stay good cherries I expect to wake up to good news tomorrow". Then he departed for his home in the wasteland. Tess was already kneeling down on the floor with a soaked red rag and a bucket wringing out a considerable amount of blood. She cast a worried glance up at Torn who was about to walk through the doors and whispered "Please take good care of him". Torn was suprised at the amount of compassion in her voice and said softly "I'll do my best..." and with that he walked out the door.

Torn walked out to find Jak who was reclined in the passenger seat, eyes closed and breathing heavily and Daxter who had curled up around Jak's neck in an effort to keep him warm. "How'ya doin' Jak?" asked Torn. "M'fine" Jak replied weakly. Torn shook his head the renegade was just too damn _cocky_ to ever ask for help. As they took off Torn realized that even though Jak joined the underground two months ago that he barely knew a thing about the kid. And yet somehow he had managed to grow on him. Torn shook his head at his own stupidity, in times like these it was dangerous to care about anyone. Who knows? you might just wake up one morning to find out they're dead. Torn looked over at Jak's prone form and sped up a little, he looked like he was fading.

When they finally arrived at the Underground HQ Torn carefully hoisted the now unconscious Jak over his shoulder and stepped out of the zoomer. Torn's legs wobbled slightly _damn this kids heavy! _He looked slim but he was solid muscle, and muscle weighs more than fat. Torn walked down the narrow staircase taking care not to Bump Jak's head on the low ceiling. Precursors know he didn't need _another_ injury to worry about. Daxter trailed behind and let out a loud shriek when the Underground door nearly closed on his tail. This apparently grabbed the attention of the Shadow. Jak and Daxter had met this strange younger Samos, who seemed to have absolutely no recollection of the two at all, once before. "Good god!" was all Samos could say when he laid eyes on Jak. "I know..." Torn replied regretfully, he felt this was somewhat his fault because he was the one who had sent Jak on that suicide mission the day before. "So ya think you can help im'?" asked Daxter anxiously, he didn't like the way Jak's lips were beginning to loose their tannish color. "Well I suppose I could try to administer some green eco to his stomach wound but it's very risky for someone like Jak, his system is so infused with Dark eco that adding green might cause a negative reaction," Samos replied. "Dark eco? Whats Jak got to do with dark eco?" Torn asked startled. Daxter crossed his arms and frowned "The Baron pumped our boy here full of dark eco for two years in that _prison". _"So Jaks the one the Baron wants to catch? Jeeze I never saw that coming, I don't think Iv'e ever seen someone hate someone else like Jak hates the Baron." Torn said solemnly. "Now I know why".

The Shadow returned from the supplies room with a canister of green eco. The two others watched amazed as he drew it within himself and then placed his hand on Jak's heavily bandaged abdomen. At first Jak's breathing quickened and his brows knit together, but then he began to grunt in pain as the two ecos in his system converged. Then hot searing pain erupted in his abdomen and quickly began to spread through his veins. The shadow drew back when a stray spark of dark eco leapt off the boys body and grounded itself on a nearby bed post. "Oh no just as I had feared" Samos gasped. "What whats wrong with him?" Daxter hollered frantically. "The dark eco in his system has rejected the green". They all looked over with widened eyes has Jak made choking sounds and his body began to convulse. He thrashed around, back arching off the bed, while random sparks of eco leapt from his body and created scorch marks on every near surface.

Then at a excruciating pace Jak's body began to change. Because his body was fighting off the green eco the transformation was occurring at a painfully slow pace. One could hear muscle tearing and bones cracking to rearrange themselves into a more beastly frame, but perhaps the most disturbing sound was the sickening cracks as two black horns were forcefully pushed from the boy's skull. This was stuff outta nightmayers. Jak's small screams began to deepen in pitch until they were rasping growls._ Oh yes_ Daxter thought _This is bad_

To be continued...


	3. Chapter 3: Story Telling time

I hope you guys like this one! I am a first time fanfic writer so reviews would be appreciated! thanks and Enjoy. Just to clarify I will be finishing Jak II so keep checking back for more!

Torn watched eyes widened and every soldier's instinct telling him to run when he saw what his best recruit was turning into. The wanted signs did him no justice, this creature Jak became was more terrifying than anything an old security camera could capture. Torn felt a mixture of pity and fear well up in his chest when he saw the torture this poor teen had to go through. Hadn't he already been through enough? When the sounds of the cracking horns reached Torn's ears he felt a deep revulsion, and had to fight off the urge to retch all over his precious maps.

Daxter leapt over to Jak and grabbed the collar of Jak's shirt and began to yell, anything to yield the transformation. "Remember who you are Jak! Where you come from, Sandover Jak! Come on buddy you can get through this! You can get through anything! You know why? Because you're Jak! And Jaks unstoppable!" The snarling continued and eventually Jak opened up his pitch black eyes. "Holy shit" said Torn "Is he... is he going to attack us?" Jak sprang up from the bed and crouched in the corner in a defensive stance. "Jak? Buddy? We're not gonna hurt ya... put ol' Darkie back in his place" Luck was in their favor because it seemed that Jak still had some sense of self within him. He noticed the others in the room for the first time and slowly relaxed. The awful pain the green eco had wrought on his already battered body was gone, and to his surprise, some of his wounds had aged making them look several days old. He straightened up out of his defensive stance, dimly aware that he had been snarling at his friends and comrades.

He felt the impulse to reach over and tear the other's throats out but managed to stave it off, He had to keep reminding himself _these are my friends they aren't going to hurt me... and I'm not going to hurt them. _Jak slammed his eyes shut and curled in on himself trying to repress the dark eco, but the vile substance felt so damn _good _to be let out. His overloaded system was already having a difficult time repressing the beast inside him, so trying to pull it back was like trying to tell a diver not to dive after they've already jumped. After a minute or so of struggling he began to feel humanity winning out over the beast. The transformation back into normality was a lot less painful than the opposite. The effort left him breathing hard and another wave of nausea came over him, he leaned over and retched up a large quantity of green eco. _Huh, figures I wouldn't be able to channel other ecos... yet another thing Praxis took from me. _Hatred welled up in his chest and almost brought on another transformation had he not caught himself.

Meanwhile the others stood watching the whole spectacle; Samos looking on pensively, Torn repulsed, yet unable to take his eyes away, and Daxter stood on the bedpost near his friend's head murmuring encouraging words. Talking was Daxter's specialty. While most people would go insane with a constantly narrating two foot tall ottsel on their shoulder, it was quite the opposite for Jak. He had spent two years of silence only broken by the tortured screams of others, and if someone didn't break the silence every once in a while he would probably go insane all over again.

Jak stood up and wiped his mouth. They all stared expectantly "Um... could I get a glass of water?" He croaked out. Torn just shook his head to clear his thoughts and retrieved one from another room. Jak sat back down on the now slightly blood stained bed while rubbing a rough hand over his face. He let out out a deep sigh "Well that was painful". Then looked down, embarrassed "Sorry, I almost lost control". "It's fine, now would you mind telling me how exactly you let this happen?" Torn asked incredulously. "Well if ya _really_ wanna know. We were ambushed! There wasnt 'ten or fifteen metalheads maybe' like ya said, there must have been a hundred!" Daxter exclaimed. Jak looked over gratefully at his friend and nodded, happy that he didn't have to do anything while he was so worn out. Jak stretched out on the bed behind Daxter and collapsed into an exhausted sleep. "We were lookin' around the sewers for that artifact like ya asked and all the sudden we walked into a new room and the door locked behind us! Then we saw them, a hundred of the nastiest metalheads ya ever seen! Now, thanks to my superior intellect, we managed to get the upper hand in the beginning of the battle, but then Jak ran outta ammo and it all went downhill from there. He had to rely on Darkie after that. And even though Jak's my best bud, I have to admit Darkies' pretty fricken scary when he's angry. Anyway's long story short Jak lost total control and got hurt real bad during the fight. He definitely OD'ed on the Dark stuff and was sparkin' and bleedin' real bad, we barley managed to get to the Hip Hog, which is closer than HQ, in time and when we did Jak sorta passed out and our zoomer crashed against the wall with Jak still inside! and you know the rest..." Daxter finished awkwardly. "Jesus" said Torn. "Kids gotta be bulletproof to survive somethin like that". "You said it!" said Daxter in response.

"Well I've had enough excitement for one day" stated the Shadow "Goodnight". "Now wait a sec! Is Jak gonna make it?". "Yes it appears so." answered the Shadow. And with that comforting knowledge they all slipped into a dreamless sleep.


	4. Chapter 4: Bandages and Revelations

Hey guys! This isnt as long as I wanted it to be, but I want to be consistant and upload a chapter every day or two so here ya go! Also I really want to know what you think so any review is welcome especially constructive criticism! anyway enjoy!

Jak awoke in the middle of the night to a stinging sensation in his side. He opened his eyes and saw Torn pressing a reddened cloth onto his abdomen. "Still bleeding huh?" whispered Jak. Torn, who hadn't known that Jak was awake, nearly jumped out of his skin. "Jeeze kid" said Torn "Dont scare me like that". Jak let out a pained laugh "Yeah sorry bout that... can I see?". Torn raised his eyebrows "Sure but it ain't pretty". Jak propped himself up on his elbows and looked down onto his stomach and wished he hadn't. He had a disturbingly clear view of his innards, while it was mostly just a dark hole if he looked hard enough he could see the tissue underneath which was thankfully unharmed. Jak fell back onto his pillow, heart beating rapidly in his chest. He suddenly remembered how he got this injury through the dark eco induced amnesia.

_"Jak look out!" Daxter said but Jak was too far gone at this point to comprehend what Daxter said. It was then that the metalhead had tackled him, three inch claws gathered together to one point stabbed through his abdomen as they both fell. They fought like wild dogs, claws and teeth, until Jak proved superior. Jak lie on the floor panting and bleeding..._

"Jak I need you to stand up" Torn's raspy voice broke Jak out of his reverie and he stiffly nodded his head and slid his feet onto the cold floor. Jak had to grip the bedpost to steady himself as his vision swirled with color. Torn took out a roll of gauze and medical tape and began to wind it around Jak's abdomen. Jak was a good patient, aside from when he had nearly ripped their throats out earlier, he didn't breathe a word of complaint and held down the ends of the gauze when asked. The two had slipped into an easy silence accompanied only by the snores of other Underground members. Torn broke the silence when he said "You probably won't be able to go on missions for

at least a month. "Nah" Jak replied "I heal pretty quick" Torn couldn't figure out why but the teen sounded bitter, as if he wished that this wasn't the case. What could possibly be bad about fast healing? The kid couldn't be serious anyway he had a gaping _hole_ in his side, its not just going to 'heal pretty quick'. "Jak, I know you probably think you're invincible just like every other teenager in the world, but you have a _hole_ in your side, you're lucky you're even _alive" _Torn said exasperatedly. "I've had worse" said Jak mysteriously. "And they don't treat your wounds in _prison" _he spat.

"Jak, as much as I hate to ask, I have to know" began Torn "What were you doing in prison? I just need to know that you aren't going to go berserk and rip our throats out". Jak turned around and looked Torn in the eyes defiantly "The only person I'm a threat to is Praxis". Just bringing up that _vile_ person caused the eco within Jak to nearly break the surface. A shudder rippled Jak's frame and his entire body tensed up to suppress the eco. Jak's face showed wide-eyed panic for only a moment before reverting back to his normal stoic-yet-slightly-angry expression.

This did not go unnoticed by Torn who looked on with suspicion. He had the odd feeling that Jak did not have a good handle on_ whatever it was_ that brought on the strange and terrifying transformation Finally deciding that he didn't really care all that much Torn shook his head and taped down the last bit of loose gauze and left the room to clean the blood off his hands. Belatedly Torn realized that his hands were stinging badly, he rushed into the bathroom and flicked on the light. Torn was revolted for the third or fourth time that night by what he saw. Jaks blood has a shining purple tint to it and that could only mean one thing. Dark Eco.

Torn hastily turned the faucet on and washed the blood off with rusty water. 'Dark eco? transformations? _Prison? _This kid is _definitely_ a threat, and he would continue to be a threat until I find out his story'


	5. Chapter 5: recuperation

Not a very exciting chapter but whatever... I just figure that you get hurt so much in the game but Jak never has to recuperate, so this is a somewhat realistic version of Jak-speed healing lol enjoy! REVIEWS PRETTY PLEASE WITH SPRINKLES ON TOP!

Jak woke up with a stretch and a yawn but winced when he realized that stretching had caused the wound in his side to open again. With morbid curiosity he unwrapped his abdomen and looked at his wound. A thin wall of muscle had formed over where the hole had been just a few hours before. He could tell it was an extremely fragile covering and would rip with one wrong movement. He was once again amazed and disgusted by what the dark eco had done to his body. He definitely healed faster but the price of this new development was the constant pain he felt under his skin from the dark eco running through him, among many other negative affects.

Jak ran his hand through his hair and was surprised when he felt his hair had matted together with a crusty substance. Blood. Quickly swiping his hands against his pants Jak decided it was time to take a shower.

The Underground showers had two temperatures, hot magma or polar ice caps. Jak opted for hot magma because he didn't want to risk hypothermia. "Aughh..." he half screamed when the hot liquid ran over his many cuts and burns. The water ran red. Jak quickly scrubbed the matted chunks of hair clean and let the water running over his body do the rest. When he turned the water off he stood there shivering because he had forgotten to bring in a towel. "Daxter" he hissed "Are you awake?". He heard nothing for a few moments but then sighed with relief when he saw Daxter drowsily walking in rubbing his eyes. "Whadaya want? Your interrupting my beauty sleep" He replied sleepily. Jak nearly rolled his eyes "Can you get me a towel?" He asked in his nicest tone possible. "Sure sure big guy anything for you..." Daxter grumbled as he returned with a dirty white towel. Jak took it gratefully, wrapping it around his shivering body. "Damn, I'm freezing" he said through chattering teeth "Must have something to do with blood loss". Daxter looked at him strangely "Yeah buddy you're startin' ta freak me out you're practically convulsing over there!" "Sorry to cause you _so_ much trouble" Jak replied sarcastically. Jak went to get dressed when he realized that his pants were bloodstained and he had ruined his shirt in the fight. He wrapped the towel around his waist and went to the extra clothes bin of the Underground. There he managed to find a pair of tan pants and a blue tunic similar to what he had been wearing before.

Finally dressed, Jak entered the main room of the Underground hideout. Jak stole a quick glance at Torn, who was currently occupied by blinking red dots all over the holo-map of the city. Torn looked up and saw Jak. His skin was paler than usual and he had large purple rings under his eyes. He also seemed to be shivering for some reason. "Well don't you look like crap" Torn stated more than asked. Jak opened his mouth to respond but Daxter beat him to it. "Well _sorry_ Tattoo Face, it just so happens that you sent us on a mission that almost got us killed! Sheesh! Give im' a break wouldya?" Torn would have liked to wring that annoying yapping rodent's neck but he was stopped by a small trickle of guilt. Torn had sent them on a nearly impossible mission, and while they were successful they had almost lost their lives in the process. Well _Jak_ had anyway.

"Jak, you are to stay on bed rest for at least a week before I'll even consider sending you on another mission" Torn asserted. Jak wanted to argue with him but he had to admit to himself, his side still hurt like a bitch and every time he moved he experienced a fresh wave of nausea. So he settled with a frustrated sigh and flopped down on the bed a little too hard. He hissed with pain and anger at his current predicament. What was he supposed to do for the next seven days? _Well, I guess I can catch up on my rest _Jak thought sleepily. He quickly redressed his wounds and fell into a dreamless sleep.

Torn was becoming increasingly worried when he noticed more and more KG hellcats swarming the slums. _They're looking for us_ he thought with concern. He knew that he couldn't move the hideout to another location right now because of lack of manpower. So the only solution is to destroy them he thought grimly, and theres only one kind of man for that job, and that man is currently laying half dead four feet away from him. _Well looks like we're gonna have to wait _


	6. Chapter 6: Inner Demons

_ This chapter is a bit morbid so if you dont like dont read. Thank you so much my sole reviewer! You have no idea how much I appreicate it! I hope you like this chappie! Sorry for the abrupt ending i got tired lol! _

_ Three Days Later..._

Daxter glanced over nervously at Jak. While his wounds were healing at an alarming rate Jak's health appeared to be deteriorating. The dark circles under his eyes had gotten worse, his skin paled and stretched thin over high cheekbones, and every so often a violent shiver racked his body while he clutched himself around his middle. As Jak's friend and possibly his link to sanity, it was Daxter's job to act like everything was okay. But everything was _not_ okay. They were in a strange futuristic city, their only link to home didn't remember them and his best friend had been turned into a cold blooded killer. And Daxter knew that the old Jak was still in there somewhere deep down. It showed sometimes when he smiled, the way his arms swung when he walked, and his determined focus in a tight situation. Jak would always be Jak, even if he had gained some rough edges in prison and Daxter would just have to keep trying to make him smile. Because really, it was a beautiful thing when he did.

Daxter who was momentarily lost in thought snapped back to reality when he heard a groan escape Jak's lips. _Ok thats it! _"Jak just what the hell is wrong with ya?" Jak jerked his head up and shrugged mechanically. The young elf stared forward listlessly and another shiver racked his frame. A small spark of dark eco flung from his twitching hand. "Yeah, nothin, _ooooooooookay" _Daxter commented snarkily "Now tell me what's goin on before I come over there and _make_ you tell me!". Daxter shouted from the opposite side of the bed. Jak was quiet for a moment, debating wether or not he should tell his friend. "It's the dark eco Dax, it wants to take control and it's wearing me down..." Daxter looked down for a moment with a pensive expression. "Well just wait a few more days, then we can go outside the city and you can rip the heads off all the metalheads you want!". Jak looked at him with one eyebrow raised then shook his head. "I don't know if I can wait that long". Daxter looked at Jak sympathetically before saying "Well tough luck because you're gonna have to" he quipped. "Whatever" Jak sighed before laying back down for a nap. Daxter scurried up to Jak and curled into a ball on his chest. What? The guy was like a fricken' heater!

Torn entered the room to see Daxter curled up _on top _of Jak. Even though he had seen it before it never ceased to freak him out. Jak vehemently insisted that Daxter was his best _friend_, and yet there he was with Daxter curled up on top of him like some sort of pet. Torn shook his head and then it happened. The alarms rang. Torn leapt into action immediately "Go Go Go Everyone up! Prepare for combat! This is not a drill!" Jak jumped out of bed, effectively flinging Daxter across the room. "What's going on?" he asked trying to clear the sleep from his eyes. "KG raid" He replied shortly.

KG raids were one of Torn's darkest fears, he knew how ruthless the Baron was and that he would do anything to destroy the underground. He would kill every man, woman and child that got in the way without a second thought. He looked out the door and saw two KG platoons hovering in the main square of the slums. Each platoon held sixty members Torn remembered from his days as a KG commander. Most soldiers were not extremely skilled but they had numbers, something the Underground did not. Overall, the outlook on the relentlessly approaching battle looked positively bleak.

Torn looked around at the haggard faces of the Underground. At this base there was a whopping twenty two soldiers, and there were about thirty other members scattered about various safe houses in the slums, to which Torn was rapidly sending distress signals. They would have a chance if they could box the KG in. The KG would then have less of a chance because they weren't exactly known for their marksmenship. As he strapped on his gun he whispered to himself "We can do this".

"JAK YOU PUT YOUR GUN DOWN RIGHT NOW" Daxter yelled ferociously. The guy was crazy! Just four days ago he had been laying half dead in a pool of his own blood and now he wanted to fight a battle? "Damnit Dax stop screaming in my ear!" Jak said angrily. "They need me out there" Daxter was about to reply but was cut off by Torn who said "As much as I hate to say this, we do need ya Jak, we need anyone we can get". Jak looked up at Daxter who was now perched on his shoulder plate and nodded. There was a mutual understanding between the two, that every battle they see could mean their end. Jak then smiled ferally and charged into the fray guns blazing.

All was going according to plan, the Underground was winning the battle until the hellcats showed up and changed the odds. Six Underground soldiers were quickly shot down because of the aerial advantage. Jak backed up and locked eyes with a dead man, or child. The soldier couldn't have been any older than fifteen and there he was, mangled body and broken spirit dead on the floor. The kid looked so similar to Jak before Haven had ruined him. Jak snarled as hot boiling rage pounded through his veins making him see red. He felt the dark eco rise within him and attempted to restrain it but he could tell it was a loosing battle. "Daxter tell everyone to retreat I can handle this myself" Daxter was about to refuse, until he saw the very first sign of the change, dilated pupils. Daxter jumped off his best friend's shoulder and sought out Torn in the midst of battle. "Torn we need to retreat _now"_ said Daxter urgently. "Why would we do that?" Torn asked extremely annoyed at the rodent perched on his shoulder. "Because Jak's about to-" Daxter was interrupted by an inhuman roar. "DO YOU SEE NOW YA TATTOOED FREAK" Daxter screamed. "alright already!" Torn yelled back in his hoarse voice. "RETREAT, EVERYBODY BACK" Torn ordered. The soldiers obeyed without question, disappearing in the underground network of trenched dug in the slums. Torn and Daxter watched the carnage ensue from atop a building.

Jak leapt into the nearest hellcat in one large bound and threw the driver out, effectively smashing his head on the ground twenty feet below. He jumped from hellcat to hellcat repeating the same process until every hellcat was pilotless. Then he dropped to the ground below and began tearing the terrified KGs' apart. Literally. He jumped on one man, narrowly avoiding being shot, and ripped out his jugular with his teeth relishing the taste of his victims blood. The slaughter continued and Jak was so vaguely aware of what he was doing, entirely driven by dark eco blood lust as he creatively struck down each of his victims.

Daxter and Torn watched in horror as Jak slaughtered the KG force. What had once been a small army was now a few terrified survivors retreating in the abandoned hellcats. The streets were now silent and empty save for Jak who was now reverting back into his regular self with moans of suffering. Jak chewed on something incoherently for a second before realizing what it was. He immediately spat the unidentifiable elfin flesh out onto the street as a cold feeling crept through his veins. He looked up with impossibly wide eyes at Torn and Daxter who both sported a stoic countenance. Torn looked down at Jak, at first he was revolted by what he saw but now staring down at the boy he saw a reflection of his own horror at what had just happened.

Jak shakily stood to his feet and began the trek back to the underground base. His stomach was churning as he walked and one thought kept running through his head 'I...killed all those people... and enjoyed it'. He was suddenly aware of something touching his face and he realized belatedly that it was Daxter wiping blood off his face. Jak looked up at his friend with a troubled face and softly whispered "thanks..." for only Daxter to hear. Daxter responded by curling his tail around Jak's neck as a sort of ottsel hug.

A few minutes later they joined the other Underground members at the base. The room went silent and they all stared at Jak. It was all too much for him, Jak clapped a hand over his mouth and ran to the bathroom and threw up all of the blood and other things he had consumed earlier in the fight. He was so repulsed at what he had done that he kneeled there over the toilet gasping and dry heaving until he was exhausted. Hot tears rolled down his face while he retched. This was something that he would take to the grave.


	7. Chapter 7: Shock

Thanks again Gearfox i appreciate the review, its really what keeps me going with this story. Finally we are back on missions! Enjoy! leave your comments/suggestions in a review! its greatly appreciated to know what others want to hear in my stories. so without further ado:

Daxter's POV

I really feel sorry for him y'know... Jak was always a hero, saving people and doing whats right, and I can tell he's still that person underneath the rough exterior. Or at least he still _wants _to be that person. Jak of Sandover. Man I miss him. What I'm sayin' is that it's extra hard on Jak because of who he was before, and how much people used to admire him. But I see the way they look at him now. Fear. Disgust. Hate. It makes me angry y'know, I just wanna scream at them sometimes, rotten bastards. Jak's never killed a civilian before, only guards which are technically our enemy. But he still blames himself for killing them. He's going through a rough time but I will always be by his side... or on his shoulder... whatever. Because he is my best friend and thats what best friends do.

3rd person POV

Daxter scaled up Jak's spine and held his long hair up as he heaved violently over the toilet. When he was done he sat down on the floor and ran a hand through his hair leaving bloody streaks in it's wake. Daxter slumped against his friend and Jak's hand came down to meet him. "Im sorry Dax, Im so sorry.." Jak whispered hoarsely. "Sorry? For what? If you didn't kill them they would've killed everyone in the slums just to wipe out the Underground! Ya did what you were supposed to now quit feelin' sorry for yourself!" Jak looked down at Daxter with haunted eyes. "I know... I have to kill Praxis for what he did". His eyes grew angry "I wonder what he'll think when he finds out his _weapon _turned on him". Jak rinsed his mouth out gagging slighty still. He had a feeling that he was going to be sick for a while after this. He dried off and walked in the main room and was greeted by grateful faces. As he walked to the front to grab a first aid kit he received a few nods of appreciation. he began to dress his stomach wound which was healing quickly though he had torn it again in the fight.

Torn looked over at the young renegade who was attempting to wrap his abdomen by himself. He shook his head and walked over to help him do it. Jak looked up in surprise to see that someone was coming to his aid after what he had done. "Ya did good kid" Torn begrudgingly admitted, he wasn't one to give out compliments easily. Jak looked up at him questioningly. Torn sighed "Those men had to die so we could live, It was them or us, and thanks to you it was them. Now stop fishing for compliments and hold this tape down!"

Jak obliged, feeling a little bit better. Four more days and he could get back to his normal routine of going on missions and pissing off the Baron. He even smiled a little.

Four Days Later

Jak rose from his bunk and and stretched out feeling refreshed. What had once been a gaping hole in his side was now just a pinkish red lesion. It would soon join the collection of other scars that covered Jak's body. He walked out into the main room to see Torn, _as usual, _poring over maps of the city. "Jak, I want you to go into Dead Town and root out the metal heads at the sacred sight." Jak then looked at Torn nodded once and left the hideout. He wasn't a man of many words. Jak walked out into the slums looking upward for a zoomer that he could...borrow. Seeing one he liked he made a powerful leap into the sky, kicking the driver out and swinging into the seat all in one swift motion. He sped forward, pushing the zoomer to it's maximum speed, and flew through the city dodging other zoomers while rapidly switching hover zones to do so. All with a feral smile on his face, Jak was back in business

Daxter slipped into the front of Jak's shirt because he had gone through one too many bad experiences of being thrown off Jak's shoulder due to his reckless driving. Jak swerved to the side out of surprise when he felt the warm weight drop into his shirt. "What the Hell are you doing Dax?" Jak yelled angrily over the roar of the wind whipping his face. "What? There is NO WAY I'm sittin' up on your shoulder if your gonna drive like a raging lunatic! I like my fur _on_ my body thank you very much" Jak almost smiled until he felt a sharp pain to his abdomen where Daxter's little ottsel claws had dug into his still healing stomach wound. Jak hissed with pain, a murderous look on his face.

The duo finally arrived at the gates to Dead town in the water slums when Jak took a look to the right. There inside one of the huts was a Precursor oracle, it looked so out of place among the run down shacks held up on rickety stilts. Jak burned the location into his memory so he could return there after the mission. He turned back around and grinned devilishly _time to wreck some metalheads_. Daxter knew to be quiet, for the most part, on missions because Jak needed the quiet to focus. They both peered around, Jak took out his morph gun and set it to blaster mod. Immediately small scorpion metalheads swarmed them. Daxter shrieked when Jak spin-kicked the metal heads off of himself. He shot the surviving few and picked up the glowing yellow skull gems. They were worth good money in the city, and beside the small amount the Underground and Krew paid him, they were his main source of income.

When he reached down the floating gaseous globs of dark eco surged down his arm into his body causing and unwelcome ripple of pain. He let out a pained grunt, but that was all because he had grown somewhat used to this phenomenon. He leapt up higher onto one of the decaying buildings and spotted slinger metalheads. He took his blaster carefully aiming it at one of the three and fired. Then all hell broke loose. His shot hadn't killed the metalhead like Jak had predicted, now there were three enraged metalheads lobbing large balls of highly concentrated dark eco at them. _Shit_. "JAK WATCH OUT!" Daxter screamed up close in his ear. Jak jumped backwards just in time as dark eco exploded where he was just standing. Some of it splashed onto his legs and he was forced to take it in rather than have it burn his skin. He quickly regained his wits and shot two slingers over the wall and into the toxic water below. He rolled behind a wall of rubble as he reloaded his weapon. His legs stung painfully where he had been forced to absorb the unrefined eco. He leapt out from behind the rubble and fired three rapid shots at the enemy effectively destroying it. Jak smirked up at Daxter who rolled his eyes. Jak kept traveling up the broken remains of buildings until they came to a ledge that went about ten feet over their heads. Daxter hopped off Jak's shoulder and said. "Well what now big guy? You can't make that jump". Jak looked down darkly and said "I have an idea...Daxter get back on my shoulder". "Uhh...okay" he replied and made a large leap onto Jak's shoulder. Then suddenly without warning Jak let out a cry of pain and hunched over as he succumbed to the dark eco. He was so focused on staying in control that he hardly noticed the pain of the change, save for the splitting headache the horns gave him.

"Hey hey hey Jak what're ya doin'?" Asked Daxter with a panicky tone. Jak didn't answer but Daxter could feel his ragged breathing as his shoulders rose and fell beneath him. "Jak you still in there buddy?" Jak nodded his head jerkily and began to walk towards the wall. Every movement was tense and contained as he slammed his claws into the crumbling wall and slowly climbed upwards. Almost as soon as they reached the top Jak forced the eco back into his system and struggled for a good minute, trying to get the beast to relinquish its control. Eventually he managed to get a shaky grip on the eco and repress it but the effort was incredibly tiring and left him panting on all fours. Shakily, he stood and continued forward.

Daxter had been quiet through most of this ordeal. He didn't want to do anything that would weaken Jak's control over the dark stuff. Daxter noted that he seemed to be getting better at controlling it as he just demonstrated, but that didn't mean that he liked the idea of Jak depending on it. Whenever Jak went through the change Daxter felt the dark eco swirl around him but unable to enter his body. It was almost like Daxter was immune to the affects of the dark eco.

Jak walked out into a large space, free of rubble, and looked around. "So is this the sacred site?" Daxter asked. "No I-" Jak answered but was unable to finish because he was tackled from behind by an ape like metalhead. Daxter flew off Jak's shoulder and landed painfully on the concrete about ten feet in front of Jak. He groaned and looked up to see a terrifying sight. The metal head had pinned Jak on the floor and was now clawing his chest. Jak felt some of his ribs get crushed and gasped for oxygen.

Daxter was panicking to say the least, because for the second time, it was Jak who needed _his_ help. Daxter ran over to Jak's discarded morph gun and fired a few wild shots which, luckily, hit the metalhead. It gave out one last roar before it dissolved into a pile of dark eco which promptly leapt into Jak. This elicited a pained moan from Jak who turned his head to the side and coughed up blood. He sat up and reached to touch his hand to his ravaged chest and discovered that the wounds weren't as deep as he had feared, but his ribs would be aching for a while. "Jak you okay?" Daxter asked cautiously. "Yeah Dax I'm good" he lied "Let's just keep going". Daxter handed him back his morph gun which he accepted gratefully, now extra weary of hidden predators. They turned the next corner and saw the biggest shock of their lives.

"Is that..." Daxter trailed off "_Samos's hut"_ Jak finished. Both Jaws hanging at the sight of the dilapidated, yet achingly familiar hut. All the evidence pointed to it the oracle, the futuristic technology, the aged hut. It was the most shocking revelation Jak and Datxer had ever received in their lives, Jak was filled with a deep dread. _How are we supposed to get back? _"We're in the future Dax.. This horrible place... Is our world"


	8. Chapter 8: Oracle

Hello my lovely readers! I know you exist even if you dont leave me reviews! I'm sorry if it seems that im concentrating on the dark eco a lot, but its just that that is the reason Jak wants vengeance on Praxis and Erol so badly and I dont think they emphasize that enough in the story. so yeah... filler chapter sort of REVIEWS PLEASE

The nostalgia of seeing the hut had shocked both Jak and Daxter into silence all the way back to the gates. "As they entered the city Jak quietly asked "Have you heard anything about Keira?" Daxters ears drooped when he said "Nope, nothin'". Jak looked down with narrowed eyes. There was no chance of going back to Sandover, they couldn't find Keira, and Samos didn't know who they were. They didn't have a thing in the world they could call their own, and no place to call home. And it was absolutely terrifying.

As Jak walked down the precarious docks, feet dragging, he remembered the oracle from before. He abruptly made a 180 and headed for the hut he'd seen before. "Uhh Jak? Where're you going" asked Daxter curiously. "Saw something before, I'm gonna go check it out" Jak entered the hut and was amazed by what he saw. It was like a small piece of their past preserved in the small hut. The large empty eyes of the precursor oracle, once filled with power cells, were now empty and slowly humming to life with a blueish glow. Suddenly it spoke in a voice so painfully familiar Jak could have sworn it was the exact same oracle they used to visit just outside Sandover villiage. "Greetings great warrior, I sense there is a dark rage burning within you and in time it will destroy you with it's madness. Only the last power of the precursors can save you. Destroy my enemies, those creatures you call the metalheads, bring me twenty five of their skull gems and I will teach you how to control these powers."

Jak felt a flicker of something almost unfamiliar at this point in his chest. Hope. He reached into his pack and dumped twenty five skull Gems on the floor. A deep growl emanated from the machine and a ray of concentrated dark eco shot out of the snout. Jak only had time to widen his eyes slightly before he was in agony. The dark eco slammed into him, overloading his system so much that the change was forced upon him against his will. He writhed on the floor until abruptly the pain stopped. He looked around and for the first time he could really _see_. Before during the transformation everything was blurry and driven by bloodlust. But he could clearly see everything right now for what it was. He looked over to see Daxter looking slightly alarmed at what had just happened. "Jak can you hear me?" Daxter asked timidly Jak tried to speak but it came out as a raspy growl, so he simply nodded his head. Just then the oracle spoke up again. "Have caution hero for the control will only last as long as you want it too, it will be easy to fall prey to the dark eco's madness and let bloodlust consume you". Jak tried to reverse the change but found that he couldn't. He had far too much eco within his system and he needed to burn some off.

It was easy with his increased strength to run along rooftops and make his way back to the Underground HQ. He came up to the door and was faced with a dilemma. Go in and risk being shot at by Torn or wait outside until he could reverse the transformation. He decided to try and pull back the eco once more. Daxter hopped off Jak's Shoulder and looked at him with one eyebrow raised. "Come on, we don't have all day here! Hurry up and change back" Jak shot him an annoyed snarl and curled in on himself. After about ten minutes of wrestling with the eco he managed to reverse the transformation slightly. His claws and fangs had shrunk and his horns had disappeared into his hair. "That's as good as it's gonna get" He said with a gravelly rough voice he didn't recognize. He walked down the stairs slowly and saw Torn hunched over his maps.

"Hey" he said in his new voice grabbing Torn's attention. Torn looked up and his eyes widened at the sight of the pitch black eyes looking into his. He backed up into the wall and pulled a long curved blade from behind him. Then a flicker of recognition lit his face. "Jak?" Torn asked, voice cracking slightly. "Yeah" he snarled slightly, he couldn't help himself. "What the hell is wrong with you?" Torn asked with a hint of fear in his voice. Daxter answered for him "Jakkie boy took in a little too much of the dark stuff on that mission, so he's stuck for now". "Oh" was all Torn could think of as a reply. He waved his hand dismissively "Well I don't have anything else for you today." Shrugging at each other Jak and Daxter headed to the bunks and Jak sat down while Daxter curled up to get some much needed rest. Jak once again concentrated on suppressing the eco, he squeezed his eyes shut and pulled. After many fruitless attempts he finally had success. With a sharp pang the eco suddenly receded. He was panting slightly from the effort but nevertheless he had done it.

Torn watched the kid for several hours from the corner of his eye as he tried again and again to properly channel the dark eco. Every minute that Jak stayed transformed Torn was on edge, if there was anything he learned from his krimzon guard days it was that you never took your eyes off a threat. And right now Jak was a threat. Torn was startled by the pained gasp that escaped Jak's lips as he changed. Torn was relieved to see Jak's blue eyes, the black were kind of creepy.

Jak would experience small painful spasms accompanied by small sparks of dark eco every so often. And he was getting increasingly frustrated by the minute. He couldn't sleep! Every time he was just about to drift off his body would convulse and his core would ache, that seemed to be where it was centered. Eventually he sat up with a frustrated growl and gripped chunks of his thick hair in his hands. "I can't sleep damnit!" Torn and Ashelin, who had been visiting the Underground to discuss her father's movements, both looked up in shock at the half crazed renegade who entered the room with nothing but his tan pants on. His shoulders were hunched and his breathing heavy "I can't sleep I need a mission _right now_, and preferably one that involves metalheads"


	9. Chapter 9: Sewers

Hello have you missed me? No? okay.. Im sorry this is late but it's the longest chapter yet so yay! another mission chapter then we get to meet Keira and I have some great stuff planned for that chapter lol. anyways as usual I beg you for reviews. It really makes my day to see them and encourages me to keep writing! anyways enjoy!

"Jak do you know you're bleeding?" asked Ashelin incredulously. Jak looked down with mild surprise at the shallow slashes on his chest. Through the shock of seeing Samos's old hut Jak had forgotten about the wounds he received from the metalhead. "Shit" he said turning around to go wrap his wounds.

As soon as he left the room Ashelin looked at Torn and said "He thinks he's bulletproof doesn't he?" Torn looked back and replied "He practically is". Ashelin shook her head dismissively and was about to speak again when Jak walked back in the room, now fully dressed, with his morph gun in hand and a predatory smile on his face. "Im going to Krew's" he said and promptly ran up the stairs two at a time and left the hideout.

Jak took the bike zoomer that was conveniently parked in the alleyway where the Underground HQ was hidden. Daxter once again slid into Jak's shirt, much to his annoyance. They sped through first the slums, then the industrial sector then the port until they reached their destination. Daxter hopped off Jak's shoulder and they casually walked into the Hip Hog. Immediately Krew loomed behind them and spoke with rancid breath. "You boys are turning out to be quite useful aye? I have another task for you" Daxter visibly cringed at the smell thanks to his ottsel-enhanced senses. Krew looked up with a greedy glaze over his eyes. "The sewers used to be a fabulous smuggling route for me before the Baron installed security devices" He said angrily balling up his hands into fat little fists. "And before those midnight snack runs kept you from fittin' out the front door" Daxter continued humorously. Jak was beginning to loose his patience with the two of them, he looked at Krew and crossed his arms. "I bet you've hatched another brilliant plan in that hungry little brain of yours. So who or what do we have to shake down, knock out, or blow up?" Jak stated with anticipation. Krew hungrily licked each of his grease coated fingers and said almost guiltily "Well... I need someone to go down and shoot every sentry gun in the sewers and I'll throw in a sweet weapon upgrade if you're successful" He added temptingly. Daxter interjected obnoxiously "Let me guess. Dank murky water? Reeks worse than ya breath at an oyster fest? Fuller of metalheads than your plate a one pass buffet?" Daxter's pitch rose with every word. "And of course weapons more lethal than your ever so tighty whities on a hot summer day!" Daxter actually reached out and grabbed a chunk of Krew's fleshy stomach while he ranted. Daxter suddenly gained an attitude and said while crossing his furry little arms and said "Look donut hole, why don't we float around here lookin' hot and heavy and you go rotor root the pipes!" Daxter was about to speak again when Jak lost his patience once more "Look Krew we're not doing anything until you tell us why metalheads are trading with the Baron's forces!" Krew responded angrily "I Should've had you both kneecapped aye? All I know is that a Baron cut a desperate deal with the metal head leader. Metalheads need eco so the Baron supplies them with regular shipments of it and in return the metalheads agree to attack the city just enough to satisfy the Baron's continued rule." "Yeah well how long can that deal last?" Jak asked thoughtfully. "Well, the Baron is running short on eco aye, and the metalheads are short on patience. Baron Praxis needs this war to stay in power, otherwise the city would put the true ruler on the throne... wherever that little brat is."

Jak finally decided that he had learned enough from Krew he said determinedly "Daxter and I will clear your sewers and we haven't forgotten about that weapons upgrade you promised us". Krew looked at Jak and Daxter and rasped "Bloodsuckers" under his breath. Jak walked out of the bar deep in thought. If Praxis was so determined to destroy the metalheads then why was he supplying them the means to winning the war? Yes, Praxis was power obsessed but he also wanted to end the war? So what was he waiting for? There was too many unanswered questions and it was quite distracting so Jak decided to push them from his mind until he completed his mission.

Jak drove into the industrial sector and dropped, straight from his stolen zoomer, down fifteen feet into the entranceway of the Haven City sewers. Jak landed nimbly on the balls of his feet, catlike. He flashed his security pass and the doors unlocked allowing him passage. Jak watched as the heavy gears and locks slowly unwound themselves into an open door. As they walked into the door they were greeted by a horrible stench, and a few sewer creatures. Jak launched himself bodily onto one of the creatures and snapped its neck. He kicked the remaining two in the head. Daxter noticed his fighting style was so similar to the way he used to fight lurkers. Jak got up dusted himself off and smirked. There wasn't a scratch on him. They turned the corner of the dimly lit sewers and Jak was immediately pounded in the ribs by twin blasts of red eco energy.

Each kind of eco weapon had a different use. Yellow eco weapons burn the victim, blue eco delivers an electric shock, dark eco causes mass destruction, and red eco gives bone crushing blows. Jak felt at least three of his ribs break and wheezed from the pain. He backed away from the sentry gun behind a wall to safety clutching his ribs and tried to regain his breath. "Jak talk to me buddy are you okay?" came Daxter's shrill-with-panic voice. "Yeah-fine... not gonna make that mistake again." he responded with a strangled voice. Jak listened carefully, after every shot there was about a three second pause when the turret had to reload its weapon, he could use this to his advantage. Finally regaining his courage Jak waited for the shots and rolled out onto the platform where the turret was situated. He felt shots ruffle the air above him as he leapt up and rolled again each time getting closer to his target. When he was close enough he quickly jumped up and shot the turret with his own scattergun, wrecking it.

With his newly broken ribs and dark eco roiling in his body Jak felt pretty crappy. He hopped from drain to drain while trying to stay out of the rancid water. He came to a ledge that could just barely fit him and Daxter. He edged along it carefully until a metalhead came at him from the darkness and almost burst through the thin chain link fence that separated them. Jak's heart was pounding from the sneak attack but quickly regained his wits and shor the creature down with Daxter screaming all the while. Jaks hand came up and lightly smacked Daxter on the back of the head "_Shut up_ or you'll attract more!" Jak hissed quietly. Once Daxter calmed down enough for them to continue Jak crouched and leapt a good ten feet in the air and caught onto a ledge. It took little effort to hoist himself over. He walked down the eerily silent halls of the sewers and came to a raised platform that looked decrepit. Jak looked at Daxter as they both shrugged. He took one experimental step on the platform and the earth crumbled beneath them.

If they weren't in danger at the moment their faces would have been quite comical. Both sets of eyes opened wide with panic and Daxter's frenzied screaming they plummeted almost twenty feet into the darkness below. Jak landed painfully on his back and Daxter followed a second later landing on Jaks chest and bouncing off. Jak had the wind forcibly pushed out of his lungs when they fell and Daxter's landing made his ribs throb painfully. Jak pulled himself and Daxter from the floor and noticed a few KG crates on the floor next to them. Jak walked over and kicked them all open at once with a spin kick. The boxes revealed small blobs of dark eco which rushed into Jak's abdomen like he was some kind of living magnet. "Augh" Jak get out a muffled cry as the eco surged into him paining yet empowering as it boiled just below his skin. "ughhhh" He moaned, this was _definitely_ not his day. They trudged forward and Jak almost gasped with fear. Through the inky darkness he could see glinting yellow skull gems. A _lot_ of them.

"Well I guess it's time to test out this new 'control'" Said Jak wearily. He then let the dark eco come alive. It sparked around him and alerted the metalheads of their presence. Jak grinned savagely and began the battle. There was no fight really, the metalheads went down easily, Jak was just too fast. A few lucky metalheads got a swipe in here and there but nothing fatal. Soon the battle was over and Jak had depleted the eco in his body to a normal,_ or normal for him_, level. Feeling better despite the ache in his ribs Jak continued onward. "Looks like you had Darkie under control back there" Chirped Daxter with approval. Jak just let the corner of his mouth curl upward slightly. They approached another automatic sentry gun, but this time Jak was prepared, he skillfully dodged every bullet directed his way and wasted the tank with a single scattergun shot. Jak blew the barrel of his gun and grinned. Daxter rolled his eyes, sometimes Jak could be so cocky.

After a few more incidents with metalheads the two neared the last sentry gun. It looked simple enough, one long platform with the gun placed at the end. Jak charged forward onto te platform. He felt a rush of adrenaline through his system when he stepped onto thin air. Before they had time to comprehend what was happening Jak and Daxter plunged into icy, yet thankfully clean, water below. Jak was first to surface. He came up sputtering and spitting out water. A few seconds later Daxter came up too "Jaak" he whined "Why did you do that? Since when have you been so clumsy?" Jak looked up and saw what he had missed before. It wasn't just one platform it was three, each with a four foot gap between them. Then Jak turned his head to the left and noticed a floating water mine not a foot away from his face. A Jolt went through him when he realized how close they had been to electrocution and possibly death. He grabbed a very whiny Daxter around his middle and began to climb up the support pole of the platform. The climb was made more difficult due to the fact that he was shaking from the cold and slippery from the water. He grit his teeth and pulled himself up over the ledge of the platform while being mindful of the still shooting sentry gun. He agilely bounded from platform to platform until he was close enough to take out the turret. After one satisfying kick to the right place, the turret exploded. Mission accomplished.


	10. Chapter 10: Old Yet New Abilities

**Sorry this took so long. I'm beginning to get busy with finals coming up but I will be updating twice a week at least from now on. I can't help but think that I should write from the beginning of the game and add in the beginning chapters so that's what I'll do. I also have to edit and make sure the story is in correct order bc I know it's not right now. If you are a regular reader I encourage you to ****_please_**** review the story and tell me what you think about adding the beginning. Anyways Enjoy!**

Jak turned on his heel and began the walk out of the sewers. He was anxious to leave because the dank, claustrophobic atmosphere of the sewers reminded him a little too much of prison. The trek back to the sewer gate was shorter than expected because it turns out the passage had led them in a circle. At least _something_ was going right for the duo today. As they exited the sewers Jak had only one thing on his mind; Weapon upgrade. Jak looked up with a predatory glint in his eyes. Stealing zoomers seemed to be a common activity in Haven city, not just the work of outlaws such as Jak, but not many people could steal them straight out of the air. Jak leapt up and kicked the unfortunate driver out of their seat onto the metal ground below and sped to the Hip Hog at boundless speeds.

Once arrived the duo waltzed in confidently knowing they had met Krew's expectations. As they approached the immense Krew he asked "What is that horrible smell?" Daxter became immediately furious "Oh _great_ we do your dirty work in the sewers and come back smellin' worse than a wet hip hog in a warm barn!" Then he leant over and whispered not so discreetly into Jak's ear "This could have a serious impact on the lady factor" Jak rolled his eyes. How could Daxter be thinking about women at a time like this? Jak's chances of getting a girlfriend were slim to none, what kind of girl would date a guy like Jak the eco freak?

"I think that was my lunch actually" Krew said as a rather offensive sound came from his general vicinity. Jak and Daxter shared a brief disgusted glance at each other before returning their attention to back to Krew. "Nice job in the sewers aye, I guess you're looking for that weapon upgrade hmm...Well theres a blaster mod stashed in some crates at the port. Find it and its yours" Krew then laughed mirthlessly and floated behind the bar.

Jak and Daxter then walked out into the port sector of the city and attempted to blend in with the crowd. Blending in was difficult though because while most citizens of Haven city looked to the floor as they walked with a sorrowful, hopeless expression. Jak looked straight ahead with determination. He looked like a man with a purpose.

It was a short walk to the gun course and as soon as they walked through the doors Jak found the updated blaster mod. The cool electronic female voice asked them if they would like to try the gun course. Jak stepped forward with a half-crazed half-gleeful look on his face. The cardboard metalheads popped up and Jak shot them with extreme accuracy. He caught himself wishing that the metalhead figures were KG figures, then grinned at his own thoughts. About halfway through the course the metalheads began to shoot back. This caught Jak off guard as he was shot in the chest by three consecutive shots of red eco. Jak let out a muffled grunt as they further injured his already compromised ribcage. He wheezed trying to get enough air to continue, but the red eco had already taken a toll in his ribs. He scooped a hand under his shirt to feel how many ribs he'd broken. Four. Three on the right side and one on the left. He quickly finished off the gun course after that and staggered out of the gun course.

Daxter looked down at his friend to his expression clearly twisted with pain. Jak never said what was wrong or when he was in pain. Perhaps it was a lingering effect of the years he had spent as a mute but Jak's expressive face always gave away the feelings he so desperately tried to conceal. With Jak there was never a need for words.

Jak walked until he came to a two seated zoomer. He stepped into it carefully and Daxter sat in the seat next to him. Today Jak didn't seem to want to take up the role of dangerous outlaw, as he obeyed traffic laws and moved painfully slow through haven city all the way to the Underground headquarters. He took special care not to bump into any red KG vehicles because he couldn't afford another dangerous chase through the city while he was in so much pain. It hurt to breathe at this point and all Jak wanted to do was curl up on one of those hard mattresses and sleep. He had been up for 36 hours and still going strong at the moment and he was not anxious to make it 37.

Jak switched hover zones and gingerly stepped out of the double seater. Daxter was seriously wondering about his friends wellbeing, since when did Jak obey traffic laws or any laws for that matter? Daxter knew his friend was in pain by his tense Jaw and creased brows, but he didn't know what afflicted him. Tired of waiting Daxter spoke up "What's wrong with you Jak? I can tell you got hurt you can't lie to me!". "I'm okay Dax, really" He answered completely brushing off the question. "Always gotta be the tough guy" Daxter huffed while crossing his arms.

Jak walked down the steps to the Underground hideout while pulling his shirt over his head at the same time. "Gonna Shower" He said simply. Torn looked up and raised his nonexistent eyebrows at the sickly purple black bruises that were beginning to form all over Jak's chest. "What the hell happened to you?". "See I knew it! You did get hurt!" Daxter yelled triumphantly. Jak ignored both because his attention was seized by the canister of green eco sitting on Torn's desk. _Maybe green eco is like dark eco. Painful and uncontrollable when forced into my system but effective when properly channeled. _

"Hey can I see that? I have an idea" Jak said gesturing to the canister. Taken aback Torn said "Fine". Jak approached it cautiously, like it was a bomb ready to explode. He unscrewed the lid and let the eco hover outside of its container. Daxter and Torn looked on with curiosity while Jak studied the eco.

Jak closed his eyes and heard Samos's voice in his head, repeating the words he heard all those years ago._ "Feel the eco Jak, let it run through your veins like a life force. Harness the energy but do not let it overpower you. This is how you channel eco" _

Jak closed his eyes and immersed his fingers in the eco. He slowly drew it into himself wary of another reaction, but it never came. The eco danced around his hand and it leapt from the gel into his body, healing his hurts. A serene smile graced his face, maybe this was something Praxis hadn't taken from him. It was a small victory but it filled Jak with hope and determination.

Torn and Daxter watched in amazement as Jak channeled the eco and his bruises melted away. The room was filled with a stunned silence until Daxter whistled. "I knew you still had it in ya Jak, just like old times huh?" Jak smiled, a _real_ smile, and answered softly "yeah, never thought I'd be able to do that again".

An hour later Jak was lying on the cot fast asleep with Daxter sprawled over his torso, while Torn spoke with the shadow. "Ah yes it seems the boy has- or used to have- quite the talent for channeling eco." Torn was still amazed by what he had seen. Jak's channeling dark eco had always repulsed Torn, but to see the same man channel green eco blew his mind. Channeling was a gene that less than one percent of the population had, but all of them within reach had been killed by the Baron, except Jak. "But that does not mean that channeling the other ecos is closed off to Jak forever, though it would take some effort to learn the skill again." Torn listened attentively but something was bothering him. "But I thought that channeling dark eco was a line not even a channeler could cross?" he voiced apprehensively. Samos gazed over with an indistinguishable look on his face "Well thats the question isn't it? What should be impossible Jak does."

At this point Jak was beginning to stir as their conversation abruptly ended. He blinked up sleepily. "Sorry" he apologized as he hastily pulled on his shirt and boots "You had a mission for me?". Torn straightened and said "Yea, one of the Baron's mining operations is under attack by the metalheads." Jak grew frustrated at the sound of the Baron's name. He slammed his hands down on the table and said venomously "That's not our problem." Why is this kid such a smartass? Torn jabbed a finger in Jak's face and shot back "It _is_ our problem when the formants' one of the Underground's best informants." "His name is Vin and he's just valuable enough to save" Torn said slightly calmer. "Find the warp gate at the power station and travel to the strip mine so you can rescue Vin's pathetic hide." It looked like Torn was about to say something else but was interrupted when Daxter jumped onto the desk and said "Hey tattooed wonder how come we get all the crappy missions?" Torn was absolutely sick of the talking orange rodent. He advanced on the scared ottsel pushing a little farther backwards with every word "Because I. Don't. Like. You" Daxter took one step too far and slipped backwards off of the table. "Fair enough" the ottsel squeaked while giving a thumbs up. Torn continued grimly "Whatever deal the Baron made with the metalheads, the city's eco is almost gone. His times' running out. If we don't get the kid back soon there may not be a city left to defend." Jak gave Torn one last hard look, placed Daxter on his shoulder and walked out to complete his new task.


End file.
